While not as acute as before the compulsion to make a record of all the stencils in Cochabamba has continued. I have to say that the overall style of the stencils has not changed to much over six months. Political and idiosyncratic expressions are still the norm.
I should note that when we were in La Paz many months ago the approach to stenciling up there is almost identical. A lot of anti-war/capitalist/animal rights and playful/humorous-type pieces. At least La Paz had the coolest municipal-type stencil I have seen. A friendly cartoon rendition of a Police Officer. Satisfyingly ironic perhaps?
CBBA Artists
What has been nice recently is seeing new artists emerge while others seem to fade completely. I have not seen a piece by ADM for some time (which “ADM” this is, I do not know).
There is one graffiti artist in Cochabamba, Ash, who is very prolific. So prolific that I wonder if
"Ash" is actually a crew (though how can we ever forget North Shore legend "Ratz"). He has done a stencil or two around town but seems to have shifted his focus to throw-ups and unsophisticated, though competent, bombs. I was walking out of my apartment yesterday and the piece below had just appeared overnight.
An artist calling himself Tony turned up the week before last and he has been very busy by all accounts. He has three or so pieces that have turned up in a myriad of places. His designs are not amazing but his application of paint is uncommonly slick for Cochabamba. Who knows, possibly this work is by an extranjero.
At the same time (literally in the same week) as the Tony pieces a series of stencils that were anti-capitalist and idiosyncratic appeared also. Their size and palette is the same as the Tony pieces so it’s possibly the same guy. The only thing is that Tony seems to go for “recognizability” where as these other pieces are anonymous. My favorite from this series is the facsimile of the National Geographic cover Afghan Girl though it fails to take advantage of the intense eyes of the subject; the key detail.
Mata2rte (Mata Arte)
The most original and talented artist working in Cochabamba is Mata2rte. As far as stenciling goes he does a fantastic job integrating an excellent sense of design, scale (all his pieces are about four feet tall), humor and Bolivian imagery. He also gets around. When we were in La Paz last – 234 kilometers away from Cochabamba – there was evidence all around the city of a visit by him.
I was given a lead that he was on Facebook. As such I sent him a message to get some background on his work but frustratingly he has not responded. I have tried Googling for articles on him but nothing-doing.
The only other record of his work that I am aware is on a blog called Where Are Andy and Jenny? We had the chance to get to know Andy and Jenny while they were in Cochabamba and Andy actually went out on with Mata2rte and another colleague to do “some work.” If you follow the link you can actually see photos of these pieces going up. It is a great record.
Yup
On a personal level it is frustrating discovering a new stencil when I do not have my camera. I went for my 06:00AM run on Thursday and found one in a park I had never been through before. At moments like these I am excited and irritated by the burden of having to come back so that my Pokémon like excess is sated. Once I discover a new stencil I always have to go back. Do you know how big a hassle that is?
The lyrical side of this project is of course watching the city change at a quotidian level. The city is always becoming new with fresh stencils and old with stencils from yesterday eroding from the warm, dry conditions of Cochabamba. With this observation I always wonder to myself if I can stop trying to record every stencil.
I live in hope. With some luck this blog entry will cure me.
Stencil Albums
If you want to look at the whole collection check out:
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